GourmetRootBeer

Aug 212013
 

Root Jack Orange Flavored Root Beer Bottle Another pirate themed energy drink root beer. But this adds the twist of orange flavor and vitamin C to fight scurvy. Their website tells the tale of a one Astrea Valentine who through ruthless cunning and good looks, was able to seize control of a pirate vessel. She kept her crew scurvy free by giving them RootJack because root beer was evidently something that existed in the 17th century Caribbean. Maybe Columbus brought it there from Milligan’s Island. The bottle is pretty sick, sporting a pirate queen with cannon and sword and jagged letters. I must say I’ve not had very good experiences with energy drink root beers, nor pirate root beers for that matter (though Jack Black’s is the noted exception to both), and only once had orange peel in a brew so my expectations were not high. Perhaps it would surprise me like Cherry Root Bear…

First thing to noticed is that the Head is impressive, most impressive. Dare I say, perfect! It’s super tall, frothy, and lasts about forever. It rivals the best root beer Heads I’ve ever seen. So far so good. The Body has a strong and sour orange flavor that quickly masks out all others. As that fades, guarana and more standard root beer flavors begin to surface, mixed with some gross herbal notes. The Bite is solid but wrong. It burns with acid and herbs and isn’t pleasant. The Aftertaste is a super sour orange with a nasty medicinal herb flavor. Gross.

And then they lost it, big time. This root beer is just so wrong. Way too much sour orange, the gross herbal mix, the acid burn, the weak root beer flavors. Sadly it exceeded my gross expectations, which were not high to start with. But the bottle is really cool and that impressive Head earns it another half a keg to be sure. See how it rates against other root beers.

keg1n5




Aug 142013
 

Route 66 Root Beer Bottle The second of the Route 66 themed root beers I’ve tried. Not to be confused with Root 66 Root Beer, which I did for awhile and thus ignored this one when I saw it at the store. I guess the pun is a little too irresistible. Luckily the store was close to home so when I realized the error I was able to quickly correct it. I’m not entirely sure what their name should be since they haven’t followed the IAGRB Standards of naming convention. Is it Route 66 Beer (as their website alludes), Route Beer 66 Root Beer (as the bottle says), Route 66 Route Beer (as their website says), Route 66 Root Beer (as other sites say)? Clearly they’re going for the pun and the route and whatnot but I haven’t a clue. I’ve settled on Route 66 Root Beer as that’s a clear differentiator from the other two I’ve tried, plus it seems in harmony with the rest of their soda line and closest to my the IAGRB standards. They sport a nice retro bottle that has even won some awards by some glass bottle award giving organization.

The Body is nice. It’s got most of the standard flavors in the right proportion but they vanish quickly. There is a nice creamy hint to the body. The Bite is very nice. It bites the tongue with both carbonation and some spices but is not harsh by any means. The Head is a decent height, but fizzes away too quickly. The Aftertaste is a sweet creamy vanilla.

All in all this is a solid brew but just not quite enough, though, it is better than its homonymic brother (Root 66 Root Beer). See how it rates against other root beers.

Three and a half kegs




Aug 072013
 

Boom Chugga Lugga Cherry Root Bear BottleThis is a root beer with more questions than answers I’m afraid. It’s made by Cherry Republic, yet for some reason they call their soda line Boom Chugga Lugga. Another problem with their name is the whole root bear. I imagine that up in Michigan they pronounce the word ‘bear’ similar to ‘beer’ and they’re trying some word play like that whole Route Beer 66 nonsense, Though that’s not the case on the West Coast so it just seems strange. And why bears anyways? I don’t see the connection between cherries and black bears. They boast that it’s a cherry flavored root beer and include cherry juice concentrate in the ingredients. I don’t really like fruity brews so I didn’t really have high expectations for this.

The Body is generic root beer that is quickly eclipsed by a rich black cherry flavor. There’s almost a bubble gum taste to it for just a moment as the root beer fades away leaving only the cherry. It actually works and is quite delicious. The Bite is rather unimpressive. There’s a sharp carbonation sting but really no spices. It ends smooth. The Head is short and fizzes away quickly. It’s better than a two second Head but not much. The Aftertaste is a rich black cherry flavor with some creamy hints that seem like vanilla.

Hmm, I like it. I didn’t expect to at all, but the cherry really works with it. They were wise to use the black cherry flavor instead of a red or maraschino flavor. The latter two I think would have really detracted, but the black blends nicely and doesn’t seem the least bit out of place, rather it’s a nice twist on a root beer. The poor Head and Bite however pull it down. See how it rates against other root beers.

Three and a half kegs